The quick thinking and action of a grizzled plainclothes sergeant and a member of his hand-picked anti-crime team earned both the “Cop of the Month” honors at the recent 70th Precinct Community Council meeting.
Sgt. Thomas Kennedy and police officer Robert Clark won the awards for taking a recently fired gun off the street and arresting the three perpetrators behind the event.
The incident unfolded on March 20 while the crime-fighting duo was on patrol in an unmarked car at the intersection of East 19th Street and Albemarle Road, according to Captain Peter Venice, interim commanding officer of the 70th Precinct.
While there, Kennedy and Clark heard three gunshots, and they immediately headed in the direction of the gunplay. Along the way, they spotted a male running toward them who said someone in a gray van was shooting at someone standing on the block.
Clark and Kennedy proceeded to East 18th Street, which was the only way the vehicle could escape, and observed the van traveling southbound, said Venice.
Venice said the two cops tried to stop the van, but the driver refused to pull over. The van eventually got stopped in traffic, and Kennedy and Clark apprehended three males.
The duo also recovered the gun used in the shooting along with three empty shell casings and live ammunition, said Venice.
Kennedy is a 21-year veteran from Staten Island who comes from a family of NYPD members.
In finding officers for the five-member anti-crime team, Kennedy said he looks for cops that are active and want to do the work.
“They have to work together, and be out there looking for crimes, hopefully before they happen,” said Kennedy.
Clark, who is from Crown Heights, said his father was a police administrative assistant and he always wanted to be a cop.
“I like getting the chance to try to stop crime before it happens and before someone gets hurt,” he said, adding that Kennedy taught him to think about what he does before he does it, and to be diligent about whatever he does.
